Over the years, a number of comic books and graphic novels have made their way to television, from NBC’s Constantine to, most recently, the CW’s iZombie. The group appears poised to get a new addition, as Legendary Television has now acquired the rights to the graphic novel series Lazarus, with the intention to turn it into a tv show.
THR is reporting that Legendary won the rights for the show from Image Comics, the publisher of the graphic novel, following a competitive bidding war, and will be developing the series with the heavy involvement of comics writer Greg Rucka. Rucka, who currently writes the series, will be onboard as executive producer, and will also write the pilot episode.
The first issue of Lazarus was published in June 2013, and the novel is currently up to its fifteenth chapter, all of which have been written by Rucka. Image Comics’ description of the first chapter is as follows.
In a dystopian near-future, government is a quaint concept, resources are coveted, and possession is 100% of the law. A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Forever Carlyle defends her family’s holdings through deception and force as their protector, their Lazarus. Shot dead defending the family home, Forever’s day goes downhill from there…
This is how THR describes the series.
Lazarus centers on a futuristic world where 16 wealthy families rule society. Each family has a Lazarus, a genetically engineered, unkillable being,who protects the family. Forever Carlyle is a Lazarus, and the central character in the series. She uses force and deception to keep her family and their interests safe. The popular series examines class structure and explores universal themes like morality and love.
This marks the fourth series that Legendary Television is developing since their creation in 2013. Two of their series, Colony and Love, have already been picked up by USA Network and Netflix respectively, while their third series, Carnival Row, is still in development.